Remote device interface and telephone entry system

ABSTRACT

Methods and systems for granting access to a building are disclosed. The system includes a telephone entry system associated with the building, a processor in communication with the telephone entry system, a non-transitory computer readable medium. The non-transitory computer-readable medium includes one or more programming instructions that when executed by the processor, cause the processor to receive a request including an access code for access to the building code, determine whether the access code is valid, and transmit to the telephone entry system associated with the building a sequence of dual-tone multi-frequency (DTMF) tones to cause the telephone entry system to grant access to the building in response to determining that the access code is valid.

RELATED APPLICATIONS AND CLAIMS OF PRIORITY

This patent document claims U.S. provisional patent application No.62/740,841 filed Oct. 3, 2018 the disclosure of which is herebyincorporated by reference in full.

TECHNICAL FIELD

Aspects of the present disclosure relate to computing devicescommunicating over a network in different locations, and in particular,a telephone entry system device, such as an intercom located at adoorway of a building, and a client computing device located in anotherlocation.

BACKGROUND

Apartment, offices, and other buildings often install communicationsystems, such as intercoms, at doorways or other access points of thebuilding to enable occupants of such buildings to access the buildingsand/or allow visitors to access the buildings. For example, a commontype of communication system used to enable access to a building is atelephone entry system that includes components such as a speaker, anI/O interface (or other tone generating mechanism), a microphone, amongothers. Users engage, for example, the I/O interface to request accessto the building at which the telephone entry system is physicallylocated. Existing telephone entry systems may present challenges as theyhave limited access control and high-maintenance requirements.

It is with these problems, among others, that aspects of the presentdisclosure where conceived.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

In one or more scenarios, systems and methods for granting access to abuilding are disclosed. The system may include a telephone entry systemassociated with a building, a processor and a non-transitory computerreadable medium. The non-transitory computer readable medium may includeprogramming instructions to cause the processor to execute the methodsdisclosed in this disclosure. The method may include receiving a requestfor access to the building, wherein the request comprises an accesscode, determining whether the access code is valid, and in response todetermining that the access code is valid, transmitting to a telephoneentry system associated with the building a sequence of dual-tonemulti-frequency (DTMF) tones to cause the telephone entry system togrant access to the building.

In certain embodiments, the method may also include denying access tothe building in response to determining that the access code is notvalid.

Optionally, receiving the request for access to the building may includereceiving the request from a communication device associated with a userrequesting access. The communication device may be configured totransmit the request for access to the building to the processor uponreceipt of a user request and/or detection of proximity to the building.

In some embodiments, receiving the request for access to the buildingmay include receiving the request from the telephone entry system uponreceipt of at least a portion of the access code at a user interface ofthe telephone entry system. Optionally, receiving the request for accessto the building may include receiving a first sequence of DTMF tonesthat correspond to the access code from the telephone entry system. Insuch embodiments, the method may also include extracting the access codefrom the first sequence of DTMF tones. The telephone entry system may beconfigured to initiate a call to a programmatically controlled telephonenumber associated with the processor, upon receipt of at least theportion of the access code.

In at least one embodiment, determining whether the access code is validmay include determining whether the access code matches a previouslystored access code. Optionally, determining whether the access code isvalid may include determining whether a time constraint associated withaccess code allows for grating access to the building at a requestedtime.

In certain embodiments, the method may also include transmitting anaccess granted notification to a user requesting access in response todetermining that the access code is valid.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

The foregoing and other objects, features, and advantages of the presentdisclosure set forth herein will be apparent from the followingdescription of particular embodiments of those inventive concepts, asillustrated in the accompanying drawings. Also, in the drawings the likereference characters refer to the same parts throughout the differentviews. The drawings depict only typical embodiments of the presentdisclosure and, therefore, are not to be considered limiting in scope.

FIG. 1 is a block diagram illustrating a network computing environmentfor implementing remote access to a building using an existing telephoneentry system, according to aspects of the present disclosure.

FIG. 2 is a flowchart of a process for accessing a building using aremote device, according to aspects of the present disclosure.

FIG. 3 is a flowchart of an example process for generating temporaryaccess codes for use in accessing a building using a remote device,according to aspects of the present disclosure.

FIG. 4 is a block diagram illustrating a computing device specificallyimplemented to automatically provide access to buildings, according toaspects of the present disclosure.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

As used in this document, the singular forms “a,” “an,” and “the”include plural references unless the context clearly dictates otherwise.Unless defined otherwise, all technical and scientific terms used hereinhave the same meanings as commonly understood by one of ordinary skillin the art. As used in this document, the term “comprising” means“including, but not limited to.” Definitions for additional terms thatare relevant to this document are included below.

An “electronic device” or a “computing device” refers to a device thatincludes a processor and memory. Each device may have its own processorand/or memory, or the processor and/or memory may be shared with otherdevices as in a virtual machine or container arrangement. The memorywill contain or receive programming instructions that, when executed bythe processor, cause the electronic device to perform one or moreoperations according to the programming instructions. Examples ofelectronic devices include personal computers, servers, mainframes,virtual machines, containers, gaming systems, televisions, and mobileelectronic devices such as smartphones, wearable virtual realitydevices, Internet-connected wearables such as smart watches and smarteyewear, personal digital assistants, tablet computers, laptopcomputers, media players and the like. Electronic devices also mayinclude appliances and other devices that can communicate in anInternet-of-things arrangement, such as smart thermostats, homecontroller devices, voice-activated digital home assistants, connectedlight bulbs and other devices. In a client-server arrangement, theclient device and the server are electronic devices, in which the servercontains instructions and/or data that the client device accesses viaone or more communications links in one or more communications networks.In a virtual machine arrangement, a server may be an electronic device,and each virtual machine or container may also be considered to be anelectronic device. In the discussion below, a client device, serverdevice, virtual machine or container may be referred to simply as a“device” for brevity. Additional elements that may be included inelectronic devices will be discussed below in the context of FIG. 4. Inthis document, the term “mobile electronic device” refers to a portableelectronic device such as, without limitation, a smartphone, a tablet, asmartwatch, a PDA, a camera, a laptop, or the like.

The terms “memory,” “memory device,” “data store,” “data storagefacility” and the like each refer to a non-transitory device on whichcomputer-readable data, programming instructions or both are stored.Except where specifically stated otherwise, the terms “memory,” “memorydevice,” “data store,” “data storage facility” and the like are intendedto include single device embodiments, embodiments in which multiplememory devices together or collectively store a set of data orinstructions, as well as individual sectors within such devices.

The terms “processor” and “processing device” refer to a hardwarecomponent of an electronic device that is configured to executeprogramming instructions. Except where specifically stated otherwise,the singular term “processor” or “processing device” is intended toinclude both single-processing device embodiments and embodiments inwhich multiple processing devices together or collectively perform aprocess.

In this document, when terms such “first” and “second” are used tomodify a noun, such use is simply intended to distinguish one item fromanother, and is not intended to require a sequential order unlessspecifically stated. In addition, terms of relative position such as“vertical” and “horizontal”, or “front” and “rear”, when used, areintended to be relative to each other and need not be absolute, and onlyrefer to one possible position of the device associated with those termsdepending on the device's orientation.

Various buildings, such as apartment buildings, office buildings,condominium complexes, gated residential communities, industrial parksand other secured locations often include a locked entrance and asecurity system or communications system for establishing communicationbetween visitors who wish to enter the secured location and persons whoare capable of unlocking the entrance from a remote location. Forexample, a common type of security system and/or communication system isa “telephone entry system”, which uses telephone systems to establishsuch communication.

A “resident” of a building may be a person(s) who lives, works, orotherwise dwells in the building for a time period that is not temporaryor transient. On the other hand, a “visitor” enters the buildingtemporarily or transiently and may need to request access to enter thebuilding. Examples of residents may be, for example, tenants orhomeowners in a residential/apartment building, employees in awork/office building or an apartment building, or the like. Examples ofvisitors may include, without limitation, mail delivery personnel,guests of residents, maintenance people, or the like. Access to thebuilding may be granted by “authorized personnel” including, withoutlimitation, residents, building security personnel, building manager, orthe like.

In a typical arrangement, a telephone entry system (interchangeably,intercom system) is provided at the entrance or doorway of a building.The telephone entry system is connected to a telephone line and to theentrance of the building or doorway lock. The telephone entry systemusually includes a keypad to provide access to a numbered directory ofpersons, businesses, or other parties capable of unlocking the entrance.Thus, when a visitor arrives at the entrance or doorway and provides acode into the control system keypad, the telephone entry system dialsthe telephone number corresponding to the code number. Once the identityof the person who wishes to gain access is established (e.g., by theauthorized personnel), the called party can unlock the entrance bypressing a predetermined number into the keypad of the called telephone.

Many technical problems and limitations exist with typical telephoneentry systems. For example, traditional telephone require atime-consuming and cumbersome process to locate the code number of aparticular party within the directory, particularly for a large buildingwith many occupants. Another technical issue is that maintenance of suchsystems can be complicated and usually requires skilled technicians tomake the installation, which is time consuming and expensive. Yetanother technical issue is that typical systems do not offer an abilityfor visitors to enter temporary access codes in a secure, manageablemanner. While typical systems have the ability for the creation ofaccess codes, the process is typically localized to the system itselfand/or cumbersome to complete, and the management of these access codes(setting the specific dates and times that they should or should not bevalid as well as turning the access codes “on” or “off”) is a complexprocess that can only be done by the building management and/or staff.Thus, the use of such typical systems results in temporary access codesnot being implemented and available to tenants and/or buildingmanagement in an efficient and automated matter. Additionally, the useof typical systems to generate access codes sometimes results in systemshaving access codes that are static over long periods of time and sharedwith numerous outside visitors and guests, which is inherently insecureand thus typically hasn't been deployed across most systems installedtoday. Tenants living in properties with telephone entry systemstypically do not have an interface on a remote device to easily createand manage temporary access codes. Managers of these devices andproperties subsequently do not have an interface for managing andviewing the access of these visitors.

Aspects of the present disclosure solve the specific technical problemsdescribed above, among others, by providing a system that enables remoteand/or indirect access and communication (e.g., control through a mobiledevice) to an intercom system or a telephone entry system that controlsentry and access to a building, such as an apartment building or officebuilding, using temporary access codes. The system receives a temporaryaccess code from a communication device, and based on the temporaryaccess code, the system initiates programmatically controlled telephonenumbers to access the telephone entry system, validate user access, andprovide access (e.g., unlock a door) at the building. Furthermore, thedisclosed system generates and securely manages temporary access codesthat facilitate remote access to a telephone entry system.

FIG. 1 illustrates one example of a system 100 that may be used toimplement various aspects of the present disclosure. Generally, thesystem 100 includes various devices communicating and functioningtogether to enable access control to a building, such as an apartmentbuilding or office building.

A communications network 130 allows for communication in the system 100.The communications network 130 may include one or more wireless networkssuch as, but not limited to, one or more of a Local Area Network (LAN),Wireless Local Area Network (WLAN), a Personal Area Network (PAN),Campus Area Network (CAN), a Metropolitan Area Network (MAN), a WideArea Network (WAN), a Wireless Wide Area Network (VWVAN), Global Systemfor Mobile Communications (GSM), Personal Communications Service (PCS),Digital Advanced Mobile Phone Service (D-Amps), Bluetooth, Wi-Fi, FixedWireless Data, 2G, 2.5G, 3G, 4G, LTE networks, 5G, enhanced data ratesfor GSM evolution (EDGE), General packet radio service (GPRS), enhancedGPRS, messaging protocols such as, TCP/IP, SMS, MMS, extensiblemessaging and presence protocol (XMPP), real time messaging protocol(RTMP), instant messaging and presence protocol (IMPP), instantmessaging, USSD, IRC, or any other wireless data networks or messagingprotocols. Communications network 130 may also include wired networks.

As further illustrated, the system 100 includes a building 102, such asan apartment building, at which a user (e.g., a visitor, guest, buildingresident, or the like) may request access via a telephone entry system122. For example, the user may be a guest of a resident of a particularapartment or office located within the building 102.

To request access to the building 102, the user may interact with a UI118 of one or more communication devices 122 ₁, 122 ₂,-122 _(N), andprovide a notification or indication to the server computing device 120that the user would like to obtain access to the building 102. The oneor more communication devices 122 ₁, 122 ₂,-122 _(N) may be anyelectronic device. For example, the communication devices 122 ₁, 122₂,-122 _(N) may be a personal computer, work station, mobile device,mobile phone, tablet device, processor, and/or other processing devicecapable of implementing and/or executing processes, software,applications, etc., that includes network-enabled devices and/orsoftware, such as a user-interface 118 for communication over thecommunications network 130 (e.g., browsing the internet). Additionally,the one or more communication devices 122 ₁, 122 ₂,-122 _(N), mayinclude one or more processors that process software or othermachine-readable instructions and may include a memory to store thesoftware or other machine-readable instructions and data.

When interacting with the one or more communication devices 122 ₁, 122₂,-122 _(N) to generate an access notification, the users may beremotely located from the telephone entry system 122. Stateddifferently, the users do not have to be in physical proximity to thetelephone entry system 122 to request access and initiate an accessnotification. While this disclosure describes systems and methods forproviding access to a building using a remote communication device, thecommunication devices 122 ₁, 122 ₂,-122 _(N) being located in physicalproximity with the telephone entry system 122 is within the scope ofthis disclosure.

In certain embodiments, the user interface 118 does not require users todirectly initiate a telephone call to request access to the building 102(as this is done by the computing interface in the background),resulting in an abstraction of the telephone call actions and otheractions that are necessary to engage the telephone entry system inunlocking the door. The user may request access by interacting with, forexample, an application downloaded and installed on the communicationdevices 122 ₁, 122 ₂,-122 _(N), that does not require initiating atelephone call. Furthermore, the user requesting access does not havenor requires knowledge of the Dual-Tone Multi-Frequency (“DTMF”)signaling mechanism required for the telephone entry system to provideaccess to the building.

The access notification may be forwarded or otherwise transmitted to aserver computing device 120 for automatic and programmatic processing ofrequests to access the building 102. More specifically, to enable accessto the building 102, the server computing device 120 receive an accessnotification and may execute an application, programming instructions,algorithm, and/or the like, that employs a DTMF signaling mechanism tocause the telephone entry system 122 to provide access to the building102 (e.g., unlock a door). The server computing device 120 may alsoverify an access code before providing and/or denying access to thebuilding 102. In one or more embodiments, the server computing device120, includes one or more processor(s) 122, communicates with the one ormore communication devices 122 ₁, 122 ₂,-122 _(N) and the telephoneentry system 122 to control access to the building 102.

Referring now to FIG. 2 and with reference to FIG. 1, an illustrativeprocess 200 for accessing a building using a remote communicationdevice, such as a mobile phone is provided. In such scenarios, forrequesting access, a user need not be proximally located to a telephoneentry system. The process 200 may be implemented and/or executed by thevarious components of the system 100 and within the system 100.

The process 200 begins at 202, with receiving an access notificationrequesting access to a building from a remote computing device. Forexample, referring to FIG. 1, a user may interact with one of the one ormore communication devices 122 ₁, 122 ₂,-122 _(N) to provide inputindicating that the user would like to unlock the door and access thebuilding 102. Alternatively, in another example, the access notificationmay be generated by a background process executing at a particular oneof the one or more communication devices 122 ₁, 122 ₂,-122 _(N),automatically. For example, a communication device may generate anaccess notification automatically to trigger the “unlock” notificationbased on user's proximity to building 102, where the proximity may bedetected using, for example bluetooth beacon technology, geofencingtechnology, global positioning system (GPS), or the like. In eitherscenario, the one or more communication devices 122 ₁, 122 ₂,-122 _(N)transmits the unlock notification to the server computing device 120.

In certain embodiments, the access notification may include accesscodes. Alternatively and/or additionally, the server computing device122 may transmit a request for an access code to the one or morecommunication devices 122 ₁, 122 ₂,-122 _(N) upon receipt of accessnotification. The access code may be provided by a visitor requestingaccess to the building and/or stored in the one or more communicationdevices 122 ₁, 122 ₂,-122 _(N) for transmittal to the server computingdevice 122 with the access notification (and/or in response to a requestfrom the server computing device 122).

As used herein, an access code may be a sequence of any combination ofnumbers, letters, special characters, and/or specific buttons to press(for example, “46#4562” or “38 CALL 6537”) that may be used by theserver computing device 122 to verify whether or not a visitorrequesting access to a building is permitted to enter that building. Inone or more embodiments, each building may be associated with one ormore access codes at any particular time. For example, each resident ofthe building may have one or more unique access codes. Alternatively,all residents may share one access code. Alternatively and/oradditionally, a visitor may have a unique access code. An access codemay be valid for access to a building permanently, for one-time use, fora certain time period, for use during specific times of day/specificdays of week/specific date(s), or the like.

Generation of access codes: The server computing device 122 may generateand store the temporary access codes, and the corresponding validityconstraints (e.g., permanently valid, one-time use, times of validity,etc.). Upon expiry of an access code, the server computing device 122may generate new access codes. Optionally, the server computing device122 may delete expired and/or inactive access codes from memory. Theserver computing device may also transmit the generated access codes tousers (e.g., building residents, authorized visitors, etc.) for usagewhile requesting access to the building. For example, the if a visitorhas permission to enter a building at a certain time (e.g., by anauthorized personnel), the authorized personnel may request the servercomputing device 122 to generate an access code and transmit it to suchvisitor directly. In some embodiments, the authorized personnel mayreceive the access code from the server computing device 122, andprovide it to such visitor. The access code may be provided to suchvisitor via, for example, a user interface of the such visitor's one ormore communication devices 122 ₁, 122 ₂,-122 _(N) and/or to anapplication of the one or more communication devices 122 ₁, 122 ₂,-122_(N).

Alternatively and/or additionally, an authorized personnel or anyone whois authorized to create access codes may provide an access code to theserver computing device 120 for storage and/or to a visitor.Subsequently, the stored temporary access code may be used by the systemto verify that a user should have access to a building, such as thebuilding 102.

At 204, in response to the access notification, a programmatic phonecall is initiated and transmitted to the telephone entry system.Referring to FIG. 1, the server computing device 120 transmits aprogrammatic phone call to the telephone entry system 122.

In certain embodiments, the server computing device 122 may onlyinitiate and transmit the programmatic phone call if the received accesscode is validated or verified as being accurate (e.g., active for therequested access time, not expired, correct, etc.) for providing accessto the building 102. The server computing device 122 may verify theaccuracy of the received access code by matching it with a stored accesscode using any now or hereafter known methods. For example, checkingwhether the access code is an access code that exists on the serverdatabase and subsequently if the access code was entered during thevalid date & time period previously defined. Since our the servercomputing device 120 stores the list of valid access codes, the systemcan interpret the numbers entered to determine a match. If a match isidentified, the system then checks the dates and times associated withthat access code to see if the time is valid (for example, if the accesscode is a recurring access code valid for every Monday from 9 AM to 10AM, the system checks if the local time at the telephone entry system isMonday between 9 AM and 10 AM).

At 206, when the call connects at the telephone entry system 122, theserver computing device 120 automatically provides a series of DTMFtones (for example, “*169863w9”) to remotely cause the telephone entrysystem to provide access, or unlock a door, at a building to which thetelephone entry system is connected. In one specific example, the DTMFtones may enter a password or master code (a series of numbers,programmatic waits, and special characters) into the telephone entrysystem to “authenticate” the call. In another example, the DTMF tonesmay enter the designated door open tone to unlock the door (for example,“9” or “7”). The use of DTMF tones for unlocking the door is exemplary,and other now or hereafter known methods are within the scope of thisdisclosure.

At 208, upon reception and translation of the DTMF tones entered by theserver computing device 120, the telephone entry system unlocks the doorelectronically and transmits a confirmation DTMF tone to the servercomputing device 120.

At 210, upon receiving the success tone, the server transmits aconfirmation notification to the one or more communication devices 122₁, 122 ₂,-122 _(N) that the door has been unlocked.

Referring now to FIG. 3, an example alternative embodiment for grantingaccess to a building is illustrated for scenarios when a visitor is inphysical proximity of a telephone entry system, and does not require theuse of one or more communication devices 122 ₁, 122 ₂,-122 _(N) forrequesting access to a building. In such an embodiment, the telephoneentry system 122 transmits the call initiated by a user to a residentfor requesting access to a predetermined phone number associated withthe system, instead of to the resident. The system may then grant accessto the user after verification of an access code. The process 300 may beimplemented and/or executed by the various components of the system 100and within the system 100.

At 302, an access code is received at the telephony entry system 122,which initiates a call from the telephone entry system 122 to aprogrammatically controlled telephone number, connected to the servercomputing device 120. In one specific example, the generated temporarycode is received in response to when a visitor/guest enters at least apart of the access code and/or the complete access code into thetelephone entry system. In certain embodiments, entering or dialing apart of the access code may trigger a call to a predetermined phonenumber entered into the system. For example, the dialing of “46#” or the“38 CALL” of the “46#4562” or the “38 CALL 6537” temporary access code)may cause the telephone entry system to call the predetermined phonenumber. The remaining access code may be received from the user (e.g.,by dialing into the telephone entry system) and/or from a communicationdevice (as discussed above).

At 304, a sequence of DTMF tones is transmitted over the connected callbetween the telephone entry system and the server (using theprogrammatic telephone number). The server receives the sequence of DTMFtones entered from the temporary access code, interpreting them as theirnumerical and/or character values (e.g., “4562” or “6537”). Morespecifically, the entry of the second part of the temporary access code(as explained in the previous step) is interpreted by the servercomputing device 120 as a numerical access code based upon their DTMFtones.

At 306, the server validates or verifies the entered access code, asdiscussed above. At 308, the server responds with a verbal message overthe call connected to the telephone entry system indicating whether theentered access code is valid or invalid (for example, if the access codeis no longer valid, the visitor standing at the telephone entry systemwould hear a response such as “This access code is no longer valid”). Inone example, if the entered temporary access code is valid, the serverwould programmatically enter the door open DTMF tone (for example, “9”or “7”) to initiate the unlocking of the entrance using the telephoneentry system.

At 310, upon reception and translation of the DTMF tones entered by theserver computing device 120, the telephone entry system unlocks the doorelectronically and transmits a confirmation DTMF tone to the servercomputing device 120. In one example, the system may generate a voicemessage depending on whether or not the access code is valid (we can“say” a welcome message with the visitor's/guest's name if the code isvalid, or we can “say” an error message if the code is not valid).

At 312, upon receiving the success tone, the server transmits aconfirmation notification to the one or more communication devices 122₁, 122 ₂,-122 _(N) that the visitor/guest has entered the temporary codeand that the door has been unlocked.

FIG. 4 illustrates an example of a suitable computing and networkingenvironment 400 that may be used to implement various aspects of thepresent disclosure described in FIGS. 1-3, such as the server computingdevice 120. As illustrated, the computing and networking environment 400includes a general purpose computing device 400, although it iscontemplated that the networking environment 400 may include one or moreother computing systems, such as personal computers, server computers,hand-held or laptop devices, tablet devices, multiprocessor systems,microprocessor-based systems, set top boxes, programmable consumerelectronic devices, network PCs, minicomputers, mainframe computers,digital signal processors, state machines, logic circuitries,distributed computing environments that include any of the abovecomputing systems or devices, and the like.

Components of the computer 400 may include various hardware components,such as a processing unit 402, a data storage 404 (e.g., a systemmemory), and a system bus 406 that couples various system components ofthe computer 400 to the processing unit 402. The system bus 406 may beany of several types of bus structures including a memory bus or memorycontroller, a peripheral bus, and a local bus using any of a variety ofbus architectures. For example, such architectures may include IndustryStandard Architecture (ISA) bus, Micro Channel Architecture (MCA) bus,Enhanced ISA (EISA) bus, Video Electronics Standards Association (VESA)local bus, and Peripheral Component Interconnect (PCI) bus also known asMezzanine bus.

The computer 400 may further include a variety of computer-readablemedia 408 that includes removable/non-removable media andvolatile/nonvolatile media, but excludes transitory propagated signals.Computer-readable media 408 may also include computer storage media andcommunication media. Computer storage media includesremovable/non-removable media and volatile/nonvolatile media implementedin any method or technology for storage of information, such ascomputer-readable instructions, data structures, program modules orother data, such as RAM, ROM, EEPROM, flash memory or other memorytechnology, CD-ROM, digital versatile disks (DVD) or other optical diskstorage, magnetic cassettes, magnetic tape, magnetic disk storage orother magnetic storage devices, or any other medium that may be used tostore the desired information/data and which may be accessed by thecomputer 400. Communication media includes computer-readableinstructions, data structures, program modules, or other data in amodulated data signal such as a carrier wave or other transportmechanism and includes any information delivery media. The term“modulated data signal” means a signal that has one or more of itscharacteristics set or changed in such a manner as to encode informationin the signal. For example, communication media may include wired mediasuch as a wired network or direct-wired connection and wireless mediasuch as acoustic, RF, infrared, and/or other wireless media, or somecombination thereof. Computer-readable media may be embodied as acomputer program product, such as software stored on computer storagemedia.

The data storage or system memory 404 includes computer storage media inthe form of volatile/nonvolatile memory such as read only memory (ROM)and random access memory (RAM). A basic input/output system (BIOS),containing the basic routines that help to transfer information betweenelements within the computer 400 (e.g., during start-up) is typicallystored in ROM. RAM typically contains data and/or program modules thatare immediately accessible to and/or presently being operated on byprocessing unit 402. For example, in one embodiment, data storage 404holds an operating system, application programs, and other programmodules and program data.

Data storage 404 may also include other removable/non-removable,volatile/nonvolatile computer storage media. For example, data storage404 may be: a hard disk drive that reads from or writes tonon-removable, nonvolatile magnetic media; a magnetic disk drive thatreads from or writes to a removable, nonvolatile magnetic disk; and/oran optical disk drive that reads from or writes to a removable,nonvolatile optical disk such as a CD-ROM or other optical media. Otherremovable/non-removable, volatile/nonvolatile computer storage media mayinclude magnetic tape cassettes, flash memory cards, digital versatiledisks, digital video tape, solid state RAM, solid state ROM, and thelike. The drives and their associated computer storage media, describedabove and illustrated in FIG. 4, provide storage of computer-readableinstructions, data structures, program modules and other data for thecomputer 400.

A user may enter commands and information through a user interface 410or other input devices such as a tablet, electronic digitizer, amicrophone, keyboard, and/or pointing device, commonly referred to asmouse, trackball, or touch pad. Other input devices may include ajoystick, game pad, satellite dish, scanner, or the like. Additionally,voice inputs, gesture inputs (e.g., via hands or fingers), or othernatural user interfaces may also be used with the appropriate inputdevices, such as a microphone, camera, tablet, touch pad, glove, orother sensor. These and other input devices are often connected to theprocessing unit 402 through a user interface 410 that is coupled to thesystem bus 406, but may be connected by other interface and busstructures, such as a parallel port, game port or a universal serial bus(USB). A monitor 412 or other type of display device is also connectedto the system bus 406 via an interface, such as a video interface. Themonitor 412 may also be integrated with a touch-screen panel or thelike.

The computer 400 may operate in a networked or cloud-computingenvironment using logical connections of a network interface or adapter414 to one or more remote devices, such as a remote computer. The remotecomputer may be a personal computer, a server, a router, a network PC, apeer device or other common network node, and typically includes many orall of the elements described above relative to the computer 400. Thelogical connections depicted in FIG. 4 include one or more local areanetworks (LAN) and one or more wide area networks (WAN), but may alsoinclude other networks. Such networking environments are commonplace inoffices, enterprise-wide computer networks, intranets and the Internet.

When used in a networked or cloud-computing environment, the computer400 may be connected to a public and/or private network through thenetwork interface or adapter 414. In such embodiments, a modem or othermeans for establishing communications over the network is connected tothe system bus 406 via the network interface or adapter 414 or otherappropriate mechanism. A wireless networking component including aninterface and antenna may be coupled through a suitable device such asan access point or peer computer to a network. In a networkedenvironment, program modules depicted relative to the computer 400, orportions thereof, may be stored in the remote memory storage device.

The foregoing merely illustrates the principles of the disclosure.Various modifications and alterations to the described embodiments willbe apparent to those skilled in the art in view of the teachings herein.It will thus be appreciated that those skilled in the art will be ableto devise numerous systems, arrangements and methods which, although notexplicitly shown or described herein, embody the principles of thedisclosure and are thus within the spirit and scope of the presentdisclosure. From the above description and drawings, it will beunderstood by those of ordinary skill in the art that the particularembodiments shown and described are for purposes of illustrations onlyand are not intended to limit the scope of the present disclosure.References to details of particular embodiments are not intended tolimit the scope of the disclosure.

The above-disclosed features and functions, as well as alternatives, maybe combined into many other different systems or applications. Variouscomponents may be implemented in hardware or software or embeddedsoftware. Various presently unforeseen or unanticipated alternatives,modifications, variations or improvements may be made by those skilledin the art, each of which is also intended to be encompassed by thedisclosed embodiments.

What is claimed is:
 1. A method for granting access to a building, themethod comprising, by a processor: receiving a request for access to thebuilding, wherein the request comprises an access code; determiningwhether the access code is valid; and in response to determining thatthe access code is valid, transmitting to a telephone entry systemassociated with the building a sequence of dual-tone multi-frequency(DTMF) tones to cause the telephone entry system to grant access to thebuilding.
 2. The method of claim 1, further comprising, by theprocessor, in response to determining that the access code is not valid,denying access to the building.
 3. The method of claim 1, whereinreceiving the request for access to the building comprises receiving therequest from a communication device associated with a user requestingaccess.
 4. The method of claim 2, wherein the communication device isconfigured to transmit the request for access to the building to theprocessor upon occurrence of at least one of the following: receipt of auser request or detection of proximity to the building.
 5. The method ofclaim 1, wherein receiving the request for access to the buildingcomprises receiving the request from the telephone entry system uponreceipt of at least a portion of the access code at a user interface ofthe telephone entry system.
 6. The method of claim 5, wherein: receivingthe request for access to the building comprises receiving, from thetelephone entry system, a first sequence of DTMF tones that correspondto the access code; and the method further comprising extracting theaccess code from the first sequence of DTMF tones.
 7. The method ofclaim 5, wherein the telephone entry system is configured to, uponreceipt of at least the portion of the access code initiate a call to aprogrammatically controlled telephone number associated with theprocessor.
 8. The method of claim 1, wherein determining whether theaccess code is valid comprises determining whether the access codematches a previously stored access code.
 9. The method of claim 1,wherein determining whether the access code is valid comprisesdetermining whether a time constraint associated with access code allowsfor grating access to the building at a requested time.
 10. The methodof claim 1, further comprising, in response to determining that theaccess code is valid, transmitting an access granted notification to auser requesting access.
 11. A system for granting access to a building,the system comprising: a telephone entry system associated with thebuilding; a processor in communication with the telephone entry system;and a non-transitory computer readable medium comprising one or moreprogramming instructions that when executed by the processor, cause theprocessor to: receive a request for access to the building, wherein therequest comprises an access code, determine whether the access code isvalid, and in response to determining that the access code is valid,transmit to the telephone entry system associated with the building asequence of dual-tone multi-frequency (DTMF) tones to cause thetelephone entry system to grant access to the building.
 12. The systemof claim 11, further comprising programming instructions that whenexecuted by the processor, cause the processor to in response todetermining that the access code is not valid, deny access to thebuilding.
 13. The system of claim 11, further comprising a communicationdevice associated with a user requesting access; and wherein the one ormore programming instructions that when executed by the processor, causethe processor to receive the request for access to the building compriseprogramming instructions to cause the processor to receive the requestfrom the communication device.
 14. The system of claim 13, wherein thecommunication device is configured to transmit the request for access tothe building to the processor upon occurrence of at least one of thefollowing: receipt of a user request or detection of proximity to thebuilding.
 15. The system of claim 11, wherein the one or moreprogramming instructions that when executed by the processor, cause theprocessor to receive the request for access to the building compriseprogramming instructions to cause the processor to receive the requestfrom the telephone entry system upon receipt of at least a portion ofthe access code at a user interface of the telephone entry system. 16.The system of claim 15, wherein the one or more programming instructionsthat when executed by the processor, cause the processor to receive therequest for access to the building comprise instructions to: receive,from the telephone entry system, a first sequence of DTMF tones thatcorrespond to the access code; and extract the access code from thefirst sequence of DTMF tones.
 17. The system of claim 15, wherein thetelephone entry system is configured to, upon receipt of at least theportion of the access code initiate a call to a programmaticallycontrolled telephone number associated with the processor.
 18. Thesystem of claim 11, the one or more programming instructions that whenexecuted by the processor, cause the processor to determine whether theaccess code is valid comprises determining whether the access codematches a previously stored access code.
 19. The system of claim 11,wherein the one or more programming instructions that when executed bythe processor, cause the processor to determine whether the access codeis valid comprises determining whether a time constraint associated withaccess code allows for grating access to the building at a requestedtime.
 20. The system of claim 11, further comprising programminginstructions that when executed cause the processor to, in response todetermining that the access code is valid, transmit an access grantednotification to a user requesting access.